Turkeys Of The Day: The GOP Michigan Legislature For Proposing Tax Credit For Fetuses

November 22, 2012 — Ron Chusid

In honor of Thanksgiving, the Turkeys of the Day are the Republicans in the Michigan legislature who are proposing an income tax credit for fetuses–despite having previously eliminated the tax credit for children. From the Guardian:

Republican lawmakers in Michigan, a state which eliminated tax credits for children last year, have proposed a tax credit for unborn foetuses of 12 weeks gestation.

If the measure, outlined in two bills heard by the house tax policy committee on Tuesday, becomes law it would be the first of its kind in the US.

Critics said the proposal was “absurd” and described it as a backdoor way of trying to pass “personhood” legislation which would give rights to an embryo and crack down on abortion.

The Michigan house of representatives this year passed part of a three-bill package that would restrict access to abortion and heavily regulate clinic that performs them. Republican leaders have come under fire for banning a Democrat from speaking after she said the word “vagina” in a debate on an abortion bill earlier this year.

The nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency has estimated that this tax credit would cost the state between $5 million and $10 million annually in lost tax revenue (via Think Progress).